


Mary & Bright

by brewstr



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, look they're soft and i love them, the desc is terrible this shit is cute trust me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 12:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brewstr/pseuds/brewstr
Summary: Anna moves into Mary's apartment building and they spend Christmas day together.





	Mary & Bright

Anna and Caleb pulled up to the storage facility at 5:07 PM on Friday night. The gate was locked and the place deserted. With Christmas coming up most businesses were cracking down on closing times, employees wanting to hurry out to go about their holiday plans. Anna swore vehemently and collapsed onto the steering wheel of the rented truck. She had been running around all day trying to prepare to move into her new apartment and now all her moving boxes were locked behind that gate.

“Damn!” Anna swore again as she sat up and rested both arms on the wheel, staring blankly through the windshield.

“We could get you the hotel room back,” Caleb offered quietly after giving her a minute to brood.

“No,” Anna said firmly, shoving the gear stick into reverse. “I’ve been trying to get into this apartment for three months, I’m not spending another night in a hotel.”

Caleb knew it would be futile to try to convince her, Anna’s resolve was unshakable. He murmured his compliance and braced himself against the passenger door as Anna swung the truck out of the facility’s driveway.

They drove to where Anna’s car was parked in a lot halfway between the hotel and the apartment building. There were two packed boxes in the back seat and Anna made a wry joke that one of them might have a pillow in it. Caleb decided against reminding her about the hotel’s pillows. He got into the driver’s side of her car and followed the truck to her apartment building.

Up in the third-floor apartment, they dropped the boxes on the dismally bare wood floor and stood in solemn silence for a moment.

“The kitchen is nice,” Caleb said hopefully.

“Yeah.”

“Hi,” a light, questioning voice came from the doorway behind them. A golden-haired girl stood there, bundled for the New England December and holding grocery bags in each hand.

“Hi,” Anna answered with a tiny note of awe in her voice. Caleb shot her a glance that she missed as he stepped forward to extend a hand to the girl.

“I’m Caleb, do you live here?”

“Mary,” she answered with a sunny smile as she set down the bags. “I do.”

“This is Anna,” Caleb indicated her, “she’s the one moving in.”

Mary stepped into the apartment to shake Anna’s hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Anna.”

Anna’s face broke into the first real smile Caleb had seen all day when she thanked Mary and returned the kindness. An idea occurred to him. Oh, Anna is going to be pissed, he thought, but it’d be worth it.

“You know what, Mary,” Caleb plunged in, aware of the secondary look of panic in Anna’s face at the tone in his voice. “Anna has had a completely insane day. She’s had so much to do that the storage place where all her stuff is closed before we could get there, so these two boxes are literally all she has right now. But for some reason, she is determined to spend the night here regardless.”

“Caleb...”

“I’ve been trying to convince her to get a hotel room or something but she won’t listen to me. Maybe you could help me out and tell her that she’s being ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry, please ignore him—”

Mary’s concern was apparent on her face and she made a small, sympathetic noise as she turned to Anna. Anna jumped to explain.

“Well see, I’ve rented a truck to help with the move, and I’m already going to have to pay to keep it overnight. I don’t want to spend more on a room. I’ll be fine to stay here, really.”

Mary nodded in understanding. “Of course. But listen, there’s a couch in my apartment and I have extra pillows and blankets. You can crash there for the night if you don’t want to spend the money on a room elsewhere.”

Caleb’s face lit up and Anna started to shake her head.

“That would be perfect!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t.”

“Of course you could,” Mary answered Anna, reaching out to touch her arm lightly.

“We’ve just met,” Anna protested. “You shouldn’t feel obligated to invite me to your place.”

“I don’t feel obligated, I’m happy to help. And unless you’ve got an air mattress and a blanket in one of those boxes, it’s a much better option for you.”

“I was ready to settle for a pillow,” Anna said lamely.

Mary laughed and tipped her head to one side, saying, “Come on.” Then, gesturing to the bags on the floor beside her, “I even just went grocery shopping, so there’s plenty of food if you haven’t eaten.”

Caleb put a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “ _Anna._ It’s okay to say yes.”

She looked back at him, half-resigned. She was tired, he could tell. He squeezed her shoulder affectionately and Anna closed her eyes and sighed in surrender.

“Alright.” Mary clapped her hands in sweet delight. Anna looked at her warmly and thanked her. Then, “Will you give us a minute?”

Mary gathered the bags and withdrew, telling Anna she would leave her apartment door open and to just come right in.

“Don’t kill me,” Caleb said when Mary had gone.

“I won’t but you’re the worst.”

“Oh come on, you have a place to stay the night and bonus: she’s cute as hell. Gorgeous, actually.”

“I’m not doing this because she’s cute, Caleb. I’m doing it because she was kind enough to offer and I would feel bad if I said no.”

Caleb nodded like he believed that. Anna rolled her eyes and told him to fuck off. Caleb grinned, leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

“I love you and I’ll call you in the morning. Oh, and if Mary turns out to be a serial killer who picks up stray gays and she murders you, I apologize in advance.”

Anna shoved him away. “Once more with feeling, _fuck off._ ”

He started down the hall then swung around. “I texted Abbie when we found out the place was closed, and she said she can come to help you tomorrow morning.” He stopped and spoke seriously, “Look, I know you’re whole living situation has been tough for a long time and I get that it’s frustrating to wait one more night—but you’re almost there.”

Anna nodded and smiled bravely. They said goodnight and she watched him leave. Slowly, she turned back to her apartment door and reluctantly pulled it closed to lock it. Further down the long hall, a warm yellow glow spilled out on the gray carpet, standing apart from the dim fluorescent lights that lined the hall ceiling. Anna approached hesitantly and looked into the apartment furtively when she reached the doorway. The interior was pretty and tasteful. _Kind of like Mary_ , the thought occurred to her. Anna could blame Caleb for putting that into her head, but in all fairness, Anna knew she had been quite taken with Mary the moment she saw her.

She knocked lightly on the open door to announce herself and stepped in to see Mary in the kitchen, putting her groceries away.

“Hey,” Mary smiled when she looked up. “Do you want dinner?”

“Yes, thank you.” Anna closed the door behind her but still hung back.

“I bought a bag of rice but it turns out I still had some leftover. Is rice okay?”

When Anna nodded but didn’t move from her place by the door, Mary rounded the kitchen counter and came over to reach for Anna’s bag and coat.

“We can toss these things on the chair here. You can sit down and relax, your friend said you’ve had a long day.”

“I could help you make dinner,” Anna offered instead. “I don’t want to feel completely useless.”

Mary shrugged Anna’s guilty conscience off kindly, “Okay!”

“You shouldn’t think that I don’t have any ulterior motive here,” Mary said as she walked back over to the kitchen with Anna following.

“Oh?” Anna inquired with interest, shooing away the memory of what Caleb said about serial killers.

“See, if I’m _really_ nice to you, we might become friends.” She turned around to face Anna with a facetious little grin.

“We might!” Anna replied, grinning back.

“And if we’re _friends_ , I’ll be more comfortable asking you to do things that neighbors usually ask of each other. Like, you know, watching the cat or borrowing a cup of sugar.”

Anna was laughing and Mary seemed delighted by it.

“The last people who lived in that apartment were an older couple. The wife was nosy and the husband was always hitting on me when she wasn’t around. I had a few too many awkward dinners at their place. They even invited their son one time and tried to set me up with him. He described himself to me as an ‘entrepreneur’ when really he just made terrible comedy videos on Instagram.”

“Oh, ew.” Anna commiserated. “Don’t sound like neighbors I’d borrow sugar from.”

“Definitely not.”

“Well,” Anna placed a firm hand on the countertop, “when I own sugar you’ll be welcome to it any time and you don’t have to worry about getting set up with my son because I don’t have one. Oh, and if I hit on you it will be completely on accident.”

“Oh—well, that’s too bad.”

Anna’s stomach fluttered a little. Was she flirting or joking? Anna couldn’t tell what it was behind the sparkling eyes. She decided to treat as a joke, just to be safe. So with a laugh, she changed the subject:

“What can I do?”

Later that evening, Anna sat curled on one end of Mary’s couch, cradling a mug of spiced tea. Mary sat on the other end, her elbow propped on the back of the couch. She ran her fingers through her strawberry waves rhythmically as they talked. They had talked all through preparing dinner, all through eating and cleaning up afterward. Anna all but forgot the craziness of her day while they sat together, laughing and exchanging stories.

Mary seemed to slip right into all of Anna’s spaces, filling her with comfort and companionship. It felt as if she had known Mary for years already, or as if some part of Anna had just been waiting for this beautiful smile and kind soul. Anna liked everything about her. Her warmth, her mannerisms. She liked Mary’s sheepishness when she realized what time it was and hurried about arranging a bed on the couch for Anna.

“I feel bad,” she fussed sweetly. “You’ve had a long day and here I am keeping you up late.”

“You’re not,” Anna assured her. “I thought I was keeping you.”

Mary smiled at her again. Anna liked that smile so much.

“This evening has been really lovely, it’s nice having someone to spend your time with.”

It struck Anna that Mary might be lonely. Anna understood loneliness, she felt it deeply. But tonight Mary had made those feelings go away for a while. Anna hoped she had done the same for Mary. Lovely Mary.

Anna found herself standing, extending her arms to reach for Mary. Mary came to her and Anna hugged her tightly, thanking her once more.

“I appreciate this so much.”

Mary just shook her head. “I’m happy to do it.”

They stood together in a half-embrace for a moment longer. Then breaking, murmuring goodnights and parting, but not without one more glance.

Anna buried herself under blankets and felt warm inside as her mind wandered to sleep.

 

“Honey, that’s not gonna work.”

“Sure it will, just push it to the left.”

Abbie stood in the bed of the truck, bent over a particularly large box. She pushed it to the left as Anna instructed and the box wedged itself against other boxes and the wall of the truck. Abbie straightened and raised her eyebrows at Anna. Anna made a face.

“Okay, you were right.”

“When am I wrong?” Abbie asked rhetorically, shoving the box back into its original position.

Anna didn’t answer. Mary had pulled up in an orange Prius next to the truck.

“Morning,” she chimed as she got out of the car. “Glad to see you made it to your unit.”

“Yeah! The place opens at seven. That—that’s why I left so early.” Anna explained at the risk of Abbie overhearing. She saw Abbie’s head jerk up out of the corner of her eye. She heard.

“Oh, it’s no problem, I assumed as much.”

They nodded at each other for a slightly awkward length of time. Then Anna inhaled abruptly and turned to introduce Abbie to Mary.

“Do you two need any help here? I’m done with my errands so I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“You know what? That would be great.”

Mary disappeared into the building and Anna turned to face the inevitable interrogation from Abbie.

When all the furniture was in place, Anna dug three wine glasses out of the box label “glassware” and the women christened Anna’s new home with champagne. Abbie took a couple sips before passing her glass off to Anna.

“You’ll have to finish this, I’m going to have to get moving if I want to return the truck before I pick up Cicero.”

“Thanks for taking care of that, by the way.” Anna followed Abbie to the door.

“Of course! You’ve had more than enough to worry about.” Abbie hugged her. “And if I don’t see you, have a merry Christmas.”

Anna turned back to Mary and picked up her glass from the counter.

“Hey, if you really don’t have anything else to do, you could help me finish this bottle.”

Mary held out her glass. “I’d love to.”

They settled into Anna’s couch, sitting side by side this time.

“It’s actually not as comfortable as your couch,” Anna observed.

“Well, you can use my couch any time in exchange for all that sugar you’re going to lend me.”

“What, are you just perpetually out of sugar?”

Mary shrugged lightly. “I do a lot of baking.”

“You could _buy_ sugar for that.”

“No, then I wouldn’t have an excuse to borrow it from you.”

There it was again, that sparkling could-be-joking, could-be-flirting look in her eyes. It _might_ really be flirting. A girl could dream.

“You have some beautiful things,” Mary was saying now, leaning over to run a slender hand over the surface of the dark wood coffee table. “I love this.”

Anna looked up at the blank white walls and around at the mess of unpacked boxes.

“I won’t have much to decorate it with for a while,” she lamented. But did it matter? This place was hers. Not her and Abe’s, not her parent’s, not Ben and Caleb’s. Just hers. Anna hugged herself and amended, “I’m so happy to be here, though. It’s been a long time coming.”

“How so?” Mary prompted her.

This was all Anna needed. She had felt the growing urge to tell Mary everything—about herself and her life and how she got here. Somehow she felt she could never say too much, that Mary would always listen and accept her. She could dare to think that Mary cared.

Anna shifted on the couch to face each Mary, and Mary mirrored her reflexively. Anna held her arms close to her body and inhaled deeply. She still fought the fear of being known despite Mary’s acceptance.

“I got out of a long-term relationship early this year and moved back in with my parents. Living with your parents in your late twenties is—rough. I mean, I’ve been working full-time so they really couldn’t get on my back about that, but they weren’t happy about the split with my partner. They kept telling me he was my last chance and that I wasn’t happy because I wasn’t working hard enough to be content. But it was over between us and it took me so long just to realize that.” Anna passed a hand over her eyes. She went on, just talking about the years she spent in the relationship, the difficulties and the months of unhappiness. And Mary listened, sitting with her knees hugged to her chest. Her blue eyes brimmed with understanding and empathy. Anna was strengthened, renewed by this open reception. Mary did care for her. Anna glowed. “Anyway, it got so bad with my parents a couple months ago that I moved all my stuff into storage and moved out. I lived with Caleb and his boyfriend for a while, and then in a hotel for weeks. It’s been insane.”

“But you’re finally here.” Mary gestured to the room with a bright smile.

Anna laughed, more from relief than amusement. “Yes! I’m here.”

“I guess I can assume that you’re not spending Christmas with your parents.”

Anna chuckled and shook her head ruefully. “Not this year.”

“Well then,” Mary sat up a little and reached out for Anna’s hand. Anna gave it to her happily, feeling a small shock run up her arm when Mary’s hand grasped hers. “I’m wondering if you’d like to spend the day with me.”

Anna’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Mary went on:

“I don’t have anyone to spend it with either, and we could make it lots of fun. You could come over Christmas day and we can just do whatever we want. Watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music and make good food and drinks. I have this wonderful buttered rum recipe from my mom, it’s delicious.”

Anna’s heart filled inside her chest.

“That sounds perfect, Mary. I’d love that.”

Mary made a preciously delighted noise and squeezed Anna’s hand. Anna felt as though her heart would burst.

 

Anna roused early, a childlike Christmas morning excitement running through her. She settled on ten as a fairly dignified time to go to Mary’s, any earlier would seem overeager. But it was so hard to wait. Nothing she could think of to occupy herself lasted long enough. The minutes dragged, reminiscent of the Christmas mornings of her childhood, waiting breathlessly with her siblings for her parents to wake. She made a pan of cinnamon rolls for their little brunch and wrapped a vintage music box she picked up for Mary in a pretty little antique shop downtown. The clock read 9:23. Anna sighed and went to scrub down the barely used kitchen counters.

Mary’s apartment smelled like pine trees. Candles burned on the bureau by the door and Mary’s little tree was lit up with lights. Mary wore a red sweater with white snowflakes stitched on the front.

“These look wonderful, Anna. I could smell the cinnamon from down the hall.” She took the pan from Anna and placed on the counter next to a bowl of fruit salad. She smelled like ginger when she wrapped Anna in a hug.

“I got you something,” Anna said, trying to keep the shyness from her voice. She held out the present, which Mary took from her with a look of awe. She pressed it to her chest and her eyes lit playfully.

“I’ll open this when you open yours,” she said, pointing past Anna at her tree. Anna turned to see two wrapped presents sitting beneath the tree.

“What are they?” Anna asked inanely, suddenly too pleased to think of a more appropriate reply.

“You have to open them,” Mary whispered teasingly as she took Anna’s arm and led her to set by the tree, “to find out.”

Anna sat cross-legged on the carpet and picked up the larger package to unwrap it.

“You said you didn’t have much to decorate with, so I thought maybe I could get you something to hang on your wall, if only temporarily.”

In Anna’s lap lay a canvas painted with twisting leaves and vines in blue and gold.

“Oh, it’s beautiful, Mary. Thank you.”

Mary waved her off. “And because of the no nail policy in the complex, I got you these.” She held out the second package. Anna tore the paper away.

“Command strips,” she laughed. “Thank you so much. Really.”

Mary nodded happily.

“But now you have to open yours.”

Mary put on music after they ate. She pushed the coffee table to one side of the living room and held a hand out to Anna.

“Come and dance.”

“I can’t, I’m so bad at dancing.”

“I can teach you to swing. I took lessons for three years in college.”

“Ooh, I bet you’re a pro then,” Anna teased. Mary laughed and kept her hand extended, persisting. She was magnetic. Anna was pulled in.

She stepped up and let Mary slip an arm around her waist. They were standing so close together, almost nose to nose. They paused, just watching each other. Mary cracked a grin and giggled out:

“Hi.”

Anna’s head dropped to hide her smile. Composed again, she looked up and answered, “Hey.”

Mary wrinkled her nose. She swung back a half-step and plunged into an explanation of the dance they were about to attempt. Anna was a slow learner when it came to the steps. She made plenty of mistakes that threw them both off balance, sending them stumbled into the couch or almost into the Christmas tree. It would take too long to get back into position when they were breathless and bent with laughter.

When they had laughed themselves ragged they agreed to make hot cocoa and put on a movie. Mary argued that _Frosty the Snowman_ was much better than _Rudolph the_ _Red-Nosed_ _Reindeer_ but Anna disagreed vehemently. They decided to compromise and watch both. On the couch, Mary laid down and rested her head on Anna’s lap. Anna watched the screen but didn’t pay any attention. Mary’s body was warm against hers and strands of her hair stuck to Anna’s sweater. Anna pulled the strands away and smoothed them down against Mary’s shining head. Anna let her hand glide down the waves and curled the ends around her forefinger. She could have stayed there forever.

The sun was setting when they finally roused themselves to start making dinner. The laughter began again and the endless string of topics. Everything Mary said was infinitely interesting to Anna, and there was still so much more she wanted to know.

“I saw they decorated a whole bunch of the old historical buildings with lights downtown,” Anna mentioned over her shoulder while tending the boiling pot of pasta.

“Mhm! They do that every year, it’s so pretty there by the water.”

Anna stirred the pot and watched the rolling bubbles. “Maybe we could head down there after we eat. Might be a nice way to finish off the day.”

“Yes! Let’s do that.”

Mary made mugs of buttered rum for both to finish off their dinner. The sweet spice filled Anna as she held the mug close to her face. It was smooth in her throat and warm in her stomach. Just standing there in Mary’s kitchen, in an old sweater and socks, Anna couldn’t remember a Christmas better than this one. No expectations, nothing to grin and bear. Everything done at their own pace. This was contentment. But it wasn’t just contentment, it felt like joy.

 

They waited a good hour before to let the effects of the rum wear off before venturing out into the winter night. Bundled in winter coats, scarves, and mittens, they set out. Mary drove them downtown and parked at the top of the little main street that led down to the waterfront. They strolled side by side on the walk, weaving around lampposts and the occasional passerby, their heads up to look at the lights stringing across rooftops and awnings. Mary wedged her arm under Anna’s and pressed close for warmth.

Near the bottom of the street, the bay came into view, the water at the docks sparkling with the reflections of the Christmas lights. They stopped by a decorative tree strung with rainbow lights to look out over the water. Anna stepped off the curb and kicked at it absently, hoping to find the courage to say what she wanted to say. She looked up to find Mary watching her. The look in her eyes made Anna feel strong.

“This is the loveliest day I have had in a long time, I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in—God, I don’t know.” She shook her head and laughed. “I just want to say thank you. For inviting me to spend it with and everything. I’ve—” Mary glowed pink under the rainbow lights and Anna couldn’t help but love her. “I’ve loved every minute of it.”

“Me too,” Mary answered, her voice incredibly soft.

Anna leaned in, pausing and hovering just below Mary’s lips, waiting. She felt Mary’s hand grasp her elbow and Anna tipped forward to kiss her. Her lips were warm on Anna’s but her nose was cold against Anna’s cheek. The winter wind tugged at their hair and scarves. Anna hardly noticed how it bit her ears as she gathered Mary up in her arms.


End file.
